Chapter Eight: Whispers of a Menace

"Hmm, I see. Well, Miss Raven. I'm sure that you have many questions." Slade said richly.

"Yes. Many." Raven said as she turned her head and glared coldly in Jericho's direction.

The tow-head snapped out of his shock and realized, not only was he knee deep in his father's shit, Raven now knew his dad was the Titan's most infamous rival. Whether the latter was worse because now his loyalty to the Titans might be called into question or because Raven would now hate him, he wasn't quite sure.

Raven's gaze snapped back cold and sharp to Slade.

'Pretty sure it's gonna be her hating me.' Joey thought to himself with a gulp.

He proceeded to profusely hand-sign an explanation to Raven in a manner so fast it became an unreadable blur.

"Let, me do the talking, Son." Slade added sickening extra emphasis on the last word, "Any questions you have, Miss Raven. I will be more than happy to answer."

Raven raised a brow, "OK. First question. Why are you so willing to answer my questions and how do I know you're not lying?"

The criminal mastermind wasted no time in answering:

"Wouldn't the real question be why have I been absent for six and a half months since the final confrontation at what was almost the End of Days? Or be why have I let you, Raven, a Titan, see me unmasked and in my very own study? Wouldn't the real question be why did I show you my very own daughter? Or why have I given you the chance to run amok in my home nearly unsupervised?" Slade enunciated smoothly as his one eyed gaze clashed with Raven's own glare, "I think the fact that I have not killed you is proof enough I'm not going to lie. Wouldn't you agree?"

A moment of tense silence.

Jericho began to mutely sweat bullets as his father and his date engaged in an epic battle of optic hatred. The glares and grimaces where of such intense magnitude that the tow-head began to wonder if something might not spontaneously combust.

"Ok." Raven sighed agreeably at last, "Now, Slade. Tell me exactly what you two were talking about."

Jericho began to furiously hand-sign again, both of his fellow occupants in the study paid no heed.

"Quite simple, Miss Raven. I would be more than happy to explain…" Slade said, his pious voice dripping with loathing. "Joseph and I were talking about he, you, and the little 'date' you two were just having. Despite the many obvious dangers." He bassed.

"Care to elaborate?" Raven's voice cut thru the study, an added layer of sharp ice fixed onto her question.

"It's obvious that Joseph is very different from me, but believe it or not I do have the boy's best interest in mind."

Joey rolled his eyes and gave a mute 'Yea right.'

"I was telling my boy that if he knew what was good for him he'd stay away from you." Slade said, taking a large sip of wine. "Far, far away!"

"And why did you feel the need to relate that to Joseph?" Raven all but growled.

Joey raised a fair brow in surprise.

As did his father, "First name basis? Heh, Raven… it appears Joey's old Wilson charm works even on half-demoness. Which is the exact reason I felt the need to warn my wayward second heir. Your emotions cause you to lose control of your powers."

The mystic girl didn't hesitate, "Ever since Trigon was defeated I've had more control over that particular area of life. You don't give me credit enough if you think I'd jeopardize the city like that. I have much more of a free reign over my emotions and a much tighter grip over my powers," Raven's voice came frigid, "Especially when I meditate."

Slade's subtle glare lost it's subtlety as it changed into a glower of accusation, "Do not lie, Raven. The truth suits you better." Slade's infamous thunder echoed about the book laden shelves.

Both Titans present raised incredulous brows.

Raven was so baffled by Slade's sudden and uncharacteristic explosion she could only leave her mouth slightly hanging in confusion.

Joey took up the reigns of conversation, 'What are you talking about Father? You were about to get to this when Raven entered the room, right? Well what the soaked-in-blood Hell are you talking about? And more importantly, why should I listen to you over Raven?'

Joey's father's lonely eye was ablaze with passion and apprehension, "Joseph… judging by her reaction this simple self-pitying girl truly does not know… Sweet Red Michael." The white villain simpered in uncharacteristic worry.

His head nodded back up and gazed at both his son and the mystic girl (which gazing in two directions must be extremely difficult for a man with one eye) and murmured, "Since the incident with Trigon I have kept tabs on the workings of the ethereal world. The occult, the church, the Catholics especially! And lately… demonry in the world is up, and rising."

Raven replied calmly, voice laced with a slight boredom, "That happens from time to time Slade. Trust me, as a mystical being, I know."

Slade gave a low, almost insane chuckled which turned itself into a mild cackle reminiscent of a madman's call.

Needless to say, Joey and Raven were freaking out.

The usually err-less and eerily calm villain stood up from the chair behind his desk and laughed a helpless, hopeless, sad laugh. He refilled his wine glass and paced across the study to a grand window showing the peaceful holiday scene outside of rolling white hills, tall snow covered trees, and flakes falling beautiful to the ground like sweet peck-kisses from the heaven to the earth.

And Slade saw red. Unrelenting, unquenchable, crimson from the deepest, darkest pits of the inner mind.

The mastermind cackled on in his cacophony, "Yes, dark-child. Levels of good and evil often fluctuate in somewhat of a… scale of ethics. But what concerns me is this… heh. Further down along the cost from the city in which you protect, a band of demon summoners was found dead. They had apparently been practicing satanic rituals at the time. Now, spiritual experts and physics, along with all the damn phonies for T.V., got a good look at the place. And by pulling a few strings I have seen pictures. Everyone who isn't a fraud in it for the media publicity agrees, as do I, that they succeeded in summoning whatever it was they were fishing for."

The lights seemed to flicker dimmer for just a moment.

A disturbing cold settled upon the room.

"And?"'And?' Raven and Joey asked at the same time.

Slade quietly cackled in front of the window, "The main symbol in the summoning was the Mark of Scathe!"

A wave of dead frozen shock ran along the two Titan's spines.

Joey had read about the dealings with Trigon's invasion, and he knew well enough that he should be scared shitless.

But Raven… Raven had been there and had experience her father more than any of the other Titans possibly could have. Even though it had been proven she could repel him, she knew what this could mean.

And she lost control.

Her vision blurred, the room became dizzy as she fell prey to vertigo.

'Raven!' Joey mutely screamed as Raven fell from her chair to the floor, gasping for air.

Raven's gut knotted in intense painful fear, vision blurred things into an unrecognizable kaleidoscope, her head swam in confusion and sheer dread. Joey's warm hands on her shoulder and his caring aura meant nothing in this excruciating phobia she was drowning in.

She spewed vomit all over the solid wood floor of Slade's study…

… and she passed out to black.

H

After discovering that the disillusioned blonde had heard his confession of affection, Garfield showed Tara to the police, her school mates, and by that time, her parents that were waiting on the other side of the school yard.

After getting checked for injuries, changing into a better pair of clothes, and checking out with her friends and the authorities, Tara approached her foster parents again…

…and the certain green teen they were pouring their thanks over.

"Seriously, it's OK! Just doing what I do." Beast Boy tried to downplay his heroics to the over-grateful parents.

"Don't act like that son! What you did was really brave." Tara's foster father, a regular modern day Mr. Cleaver, said happily.

"YOU SAVED MY BABY!" Tara's foster mom, a rather large but friendly woman, grabbed the scrawny Titan in a bear hug and sobbed her thanks and praise with big, wet tears of joy.

As Tara approached the scene with a deep inner smile she set out to save her savior, "Uh, Mom, you might want to let go. I think you're suffocating him."

The mother took a big sniff, "Whu? OH MY! Dearie are you OK?" she let him go, and began to inspect him for injury, "I Am So SORRY! WAAAAAH!" the large woman bear hugged him again, w happy he was fine.

"M-mom. I think you should really let go of him." Tara giggled.

"Wha? OH DEAR I DID IT AGAIN!" the large woman screamed in panic.

Beast Boy, after quickly catching his breath, weezed out, "It's fine, Mrs. Ahem. Woo."

After catching his breath the Titan turned to the blonde and asked sweetly, "Are you OK?"

The Father and Mother looked at the two intently with a golden silence.

"Y-yea. I'm fine. How about you? You're more burnt up than me, shouldn't you go see the ambulance or something?" Tara replied.

Beast Boy looked down and noticed his injuries for the first time, burns. They normally would have been scar-forming for an average person, but he wasn't an average person. "Nah, don't worry about it. I'm a superhero afterall. It's what I do."

Tara giggled a little.

The Mother and Father's heads turned to each other with knowing gazes and they giggled too.

The two teens gave them odd looks, "What?" Tara asked, annoyed.

"Oooh, nothing Tara." The Mother cooed.

Tara caught on to exactly what her mother was thinking, and was thoroughly embarrassed (although Beast Boy, in typical hormonal male style, was clueless), "Mom! Stop it!" Tara fumed, arms at her side, fuming.

Her mother giggled all the more.

Beast Boy stood there quite clueless.

"Uh, we'll see you at home Tara." the Father said as the parents headed for the car.

Tara's fuming instantly ceased and she gave them a 'Bzuh?' look.

Beast Boy spoke up, "Wait, you're not going to give her a ride?"

The Mother tossed a quickly formulated lie over her shoulder, "Oh, we have pick up her younger daughter from her piano recital we were at. She needs a ride home and we think Tara would rather be home a soon as possible, right Tara?"

Tara stood dumbfounded, "Right…"

The Father took over, "Well, Mr. Beast Boy. We'd really appreciate it if you'd walk our daughter home. It's not too far from here and she needs someone to keep her company. You don't have to of course-"

"No! No!" Beast Boy cut in, "Of course I'll walk Tara home!"

Tara shot a weird look at her savior for his eagerness.

Beast Boy noticed and blushed and offered, "That is, if its cool with you."

"Yea, s-sure." Tara said.

"It's settled then. Thanks a lot Mr. Beast Boy. If you need anything Tara, call us. We'll be home as absolutely soon as we can."

"By sweetie! By Beast Boy, oh you sweetie you! You- YOU SAVED MY BABY! WAAH!" The mother had our changeling hero in a death hug again before letting go, kissing Tara, and walking into the car, smiling.

And the car drove off.

…There stood the two teens, dumbfounded that her parents had left like that.

… the skeletal remains of the school still smoldered and smoked behind them. A cold breeze blew between them.

"S-sorry about your school." Beast Boy offered.

"It's OK. I wasn't a big fan anyway. Ya know?" Tara sighed sadly.

The two teens stood in the night, stars twinkling overhead, alone except for the few firefmen and police still about. Staring at the wreckage. Wreckage of a life lost, past forgotten, but no matter how much it burns away, the wreckage is still there.

He wanted to reach out, to touch her. But he couldn't. This may have been Tara, but it wasn't Terra.

This was just another girl.

"So, uh… which way to your house?" He asked with a cheesy smile.

The blonde saw the cheesy smile and giggled hard, the shaking of her body shivering out some of her melancholy of the day's events.

"I-its this way. Hehehe." And Tara led them on their way.

H

In the car on the way to pick up their younger daughter from a piano recital, Tara's foster parents conversed.

"So, we did just leave our blonde teenage daughter alone with a hormonal teenage boy who just saved her life and has a mutual attraction with, right?" the Father asked.

"Yep." The Mother replied.

"And we're OK with that, right?"

"Yep."

"…"

"…"

"Well allrighty then."